PERRYSBURG — The national teacher shortage is hitting specialty classes hard, and at Perrysburg High School that means the final American Sign Language course has been dropped, with students unable to get certifications.

Perrysburg senior Lauren Gorcz, and her father Damon Gorcz, spoke to the school board on Monday about wanting to take the American Sign Language IV class, which is not scheduled to be offered this fall, but is needed for her bilingual and honors certifications in the language.

“The program is super important to the both of us. He (her father) was devastated, as well as myself, when we found out that we couldn’t continue to take our fourth year. We’re doing everything we can to keep it,” Lauren said, adding she planned to use the course for college.

“I signed with John Carroll, for lacrosse, but I did plan on using (ASL). I want to go into business and marketing. Obviously, being able to communicate with people of all types of disabilities and abilities is very important in my industry. I would hopefully be able to use it in the workplace and enjoy the clubs and take the classes that John Carroll offers.”

A dozen ASL students showed up to the meeting, along with several parents.

A letter from school counselors was sent out to families about the cancellation on July 12. Scheduling choices were submitted by students in February. The class was scheduled to have 30 students.

Students are requesting that other options, such as remote learning, be offered.

On May 4 the ASL IV teacher was put on leave and officially resigned on May 13, according to Perrysburg Schools spokesperson Rachel Zickar.

The district has been attempting to hire a replacement, with the first posting on May 13, until June 3, when it looked like a teacher had been found. There was only a single applicant.

According to Don Christie, executive director of human resources, that person did not have the proper certifications. The position was reposted on June 16, but there have not been any applicants.

“I get their frustration, but it’s also not like we are sitting back,” Christie said. “Especially in some of our elective programs … we’re finding it very difficult to replace.”

Christie said the district has made attempts to contact the Ohio School for the Deaf, Ohio State University, Owens Community College, Terra State Community College and Bowling Green State University, without any success.

“We’re still in the process of trying to work with other options, whether it’s online, distance learning, but there are requirements that go with it and the logistics of putting that piece together. It would be through the College Credit Plus program,” Christie said. “So we are still having those conversations, and trying to come up with an alternative, not just saying that this is done and over.”

Because of CCP requirements, students would have to be a part of the CCP program to utilize that option.

Recognizing the difficulty in finding applicants, the district contacted Hilliard City Schools, who had a posting for an ASL teacher. They received only one application. That person was subsequently hired.

“They said ‘good luck,’ because here you are in Columbus, and Hilliard is getting only one applicant for a position,” Christie said.

BGSU began making cuts in ASL classes last year. Zickar said that BGSU is the biggest source of teachers for the district.

Superintendent Tom Hosler commented on the general teacher shortage.

“There has always been a deep pool of candidates that we could get from other districts and colleges,” Hosler said. ‘What has happened, is after years of declining (numbers of) students from high school going into education, education majors actually going into the profession after they graduate and people who are retiring and resigning, and a we’ve had a number of those from within our own district, that pool has shrunk across the country and certainly in Ohio.”

A recent search for a science teacher, which would have yielded 30 applicants for Perrysburg, turned up only four for this fall.

Christie said he was unaware of any other districts in Wood County that offer ASL. Toledo Public Schools has some limited ASL options.

There is still one ASL teacher at Perrysburg and a statement from the district indicated that all first-year ASL students are being offered online courses. The teacher is teaching second and third-year students because students need those for college requirements.

“The fourth year ASL class we are not able to cover at this time. We have prioritized students having all they need to get into college but it is disappointing to those 30 students who were signed up for ASL 4. We are still trying to get a second ASL teacher but we felt it was fair to those 30 students to let them know now so they can explore other options for their schedules as staffing this position is proving to be quite challenging,” the official statement indicated.